General Kayani's statement a Warning for SAFMA's Media Terrorists

ISLAMABAD: A senior military source has categorically dispelled the impression that the judiciary is the target of the army chief Gen Ashfaq Pervez Kayani’s statement on Monday.

“The army chief instead supported the judiciary by emphasizing on the rule of law and talking of the due process of law,” the source said but admitted that the army chief’s statement contains message for certain elements in the media who are deliberately propagating baseless conspiracy theories and crossing the limits to malign the institution of army.

The military source, whose relevance to this issue makes him important to be heard by this correspondent, said that while speaking to a group of army officers at the GHQ, the army chief firstly wanted to convey it to all the military men that their individual wrongs could not be shared by the institution and that if anyone did any wrong, he would have to face the music.

Secondly, the source said the media had been conveyed that any irresponsible and malicious commentary on the institution of defence forces could lead to harming the defence institutions.

Endorsing what the source claimed, owners of certain media houses have been indirectly conveyed through a civilian person that the army chief’s message is meant for the media as some of the media people have been stretching out the individual cases of alleged corruption of a few retired generals and have crossed the limits to malign the institution of Army in the recent days and weeks.

Presenting baseless conspiracy theories against the army and hitting the institution on the basis of alleged wrongs of some individual and without realizing that how such actions could damage the defence institutions, are said to be the reasons for the army chief’s unusual statement.

Former DG ISI Lt Gen (retd) Hamid Gul sees the Army chief’s message as a warning shot after the institution has been unnecessarily dragged in certain cases of retired army officers. “Armed forces draw their strength from the bedrock of the public support. National security is meaningless without it. Therefore, any effort which wittingly or unwittingly draws a wedge between the people and armed forces of Pakistan undermines the larger national interest. While constructive criticism is well understood, conspiracy theories based on rumours which create doubts about the very intent, are unacceptable”, the Army chief said in a clear reference to what certain elements in the media have been propagating in the recent days and weeks.

Although, the Article 19 of the Constitution ensures that every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression, this freedom is subject to restrictions in relation to the interest of the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, [commission of] or incitement to an offence.

Similarly the Article 63(1) of the Constitution disqualified a person from being elected or chosen as, and from being, a member of the Majlis-e-Shoora (Parliament), if he has been convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction for propagating any opinion, or acting in any manner, prejudicial to the ideology of Pakistan, or the sovereignty, integrity or security of Pakistan, or the integrity, or independence of the judiciary of Pakistan, or which defames or brings into ridicule the judiciary or the Armed Forces of Pakistan, unless a period of five years has lapsed since his release.